#DesignIndaba2017: Nedbank inspires clients to see money differently

The TVC from Joe Public is a thought-provoking journey of 'the note' between good and bad, depending on how you view money. It is the owner who decides what to do with the money. In the right hands and when well managed, money has the infinite capacity to do good. The TVC is beautifully produced and really engages the viewer in the story. It will be launched on Carte Blanche this Sunday night.

I asked Thulani Sibeko, group executive: Marketing, Communications & Corporate Affairs at Nedbank, what 'see money differently' means to Nedbank. He said, “When we say 'see money differently' we are inviting our consumers and clients to say money has amazing possibilities for good. If you manage it well there is a lot more you can achieve through it. As people pursue their financial goals they make their best choices."

Commenting on the process, he said it's been an exciting journey, but a challenging one too. "Money is money, which any bank can talk about, so the challenge for Nedbank was how do we find a way of articulating this positioning, firstly, in a way that makes people reappraise Nedbank. So, we had to use a different voice from what we’ve always had.

"Secondly, among a sea of financial institutions for us to stand out, we had to find a metaphor that is so different from what we’ve used in the past and from what our peers have done, and when Joe Public came up with this idea it was wow! Partly exciting and to some extent do we want to go there? But great ideas are the ones that give you some discomfort, then you know you are more likely to get something different to when you see an idea that says 'ok, I can do this', which results in keeping the status quo.”

According to Khuthala Gala Holten, deputy MD at Joe Public, “The proposition of money well managed was a collaboration between ourselves, the Nedbank brand team and Yellowwood. It was a lengthy process, where we had to find a space that no body had gone or probably had not dared to go, calling money what it is. Money is money but the most important thing is how we translate that and how consumers manage money well and turn it into dreams, homes and businesses. 'See money differently' provokes one to look at their money and whose hands they put it in. The launch commercial 'the note' is a journey. You follow this note through the city and see the power of what it can do in the right or wrong hands.”

Thulani Sibeko, Nedbank group executive: Marketing, Communications and Corporate Affairs; Carien Momsen, first runner up; Titus Khoza, winner; Keya Murphy, second runner up; and Vanessa Singh, Nedbank executive head of Retail and Business Banking Marketing.

As the sponsor of Design Indaba for three years, Nedbank used the platform to drive the point home by identifying, sponsoring and challenging 40 Emerging Creatives to see money differently and use their ingenuity to try and solve prevalent socio-economic challenges. The winning concept by Titus Khoza received R100,000 in funding towards making a positive impact in the country.

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